Notes, records and referral letters.
Every visit is documented, and you leave with what you need from it: a note for your employer or school, a vaccine record, or a letter to your family doctor or nurse practitioner. Here is exactly what a Registered Nurse can sign — and what still needs a physician or NP.
What we provide
Documentation that comes with the visit
Included with any visit unless noted. Everything we write states what a Registered Nurse assessed and recommended — nothing more, nothing less.
Visit note
Confirms that you were assessed by a Registered Nurse on a given date and records our recommendations — for example rest, follow-up, or time away from work or school. Signed with our prescriber’s name, title and CNO registration number.
Immunization record
A written record of every vaccine we give — product, lot, site and date — for your yellow card, your child’s school, your employer or your travel documents, plus help updating Ontario’s immunization registry.
Referral and summary letters
A letter to your family doctor or nurse practitioner summarizing our assessment and recommending follow-up — when a form needs their signature, a symptom needs testing, or a prescription is outside RN scope.
Forms an RN may complete
Where a form accepts a Registered Nurse’s signature and asks only about what we assessed — many employer and school health forms — we complete it from our visit. Forms that name a physician or NP, or ask us to confirm a diagnosis, we don’t.
Visit summary
A plain-language summary of each visit for your own records: what we assessed, what we prescribed and why, and what to watch for. Shared with your doctor or NP whenever you ask us to.
Itemized receipts
Every visit comes with an itemized receipt showing the service, the fee, our prescriber’s name and registration number — what extended health plans ask for.
Sick notes, honestly
What the law says about notes for work.
Since October 28, 2024, Ontario employers cannot require a certificate from a qualified health practitioner for the sick leave the Employment Standards Act guarantees (three days a year). They can still ask for evidence that is reasonable in the circumstances, and many do ask for a note for longer absences, for leave beyond the ESA minimum, or for return-to-work and accommodation planning.
When a note is genuinely needed, the Act puts Registered Nurses in the same category as physicians and psychologists as “qualified health practitioners”. Our note confirms the date you were assessed by a Registered Nurse, what we observed, and what we recommended. It never states a diagnosis beyond what an RN prescriber may communicate, and we never write one for a day we didn’t see you.
We can
- Document that we assessed you on a date and what we recommended.
- Provide immunization records and visit summaries.
- Complete forms that accept a Registered Nurse’s signature.
- Write to your doctor or NP recommending follow-up, including for employment forms that need their signature.
We can’t
- Sign forms that require a physician or nurse practitioner — most disability, insurance and medical-exemption forms.
- Certify a diagnosis beyond the purpose of prescribing, or an illness we didn’t assess.
- Backdate a note or write one without a visit.
Fees
What documentation costs.
Notes, records and letters are part of the visit. A form that takes real time to complete carries a small fee.
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Visit note or letter to your doctor or NP Included
Included with any visit: a record of the visit, or a letter summarizing the assessment and recommending follow-up.
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Form completion $35
For forms an RN may sign, completed from a visit we did. Not available for dates we didn’t see you.
Bring to the visit
- The form itself, if there is one, so we can tell you up front which sections a nurse may complete.
- Your yellow card or immunization printout, for a record we can build on.
- Your family doctor’s or NP’s name and fax or email, if you’d like a letter sent.
Questions
About notes and forms.
Not sure whether yours qualifies? Send us a photo of the form and we’ll tell you before you book.
Will my employer accept a note from a nurse?
Often, yes. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act defines a “qualified health practitioner” as a physician, registered nurse or psychologist, so an RN’s note is the same class of evidence as a doctor’s under the Act. Individual employer policies vary, so check yours — and remember that for the three ESA sick days, your employer can’t require a practitioner’s note at all.
Can you write a note for days you didn’t see me?
No. A note documents a visit: the date we assessed you and what we found and recommended. We can’t certify an illness we didn’t assess or backdate anything. If you’re unwell today, request a visit today.
Can you fill out my insurance or disability form?
Usually those forms ask for a diagnosis and a physician’s or nurse practitioner’s signature, which is outside RN prescribing. What we can do is complete any section a nurse may complete, and write a letter to your doctor or NP summarizing our assessment so your appointment with them is quicker.
Can you write a letter so my doctor will see me faster?
We can write to your family doctor or NP summarizing what we assessed and recommending follow-up — for example when a form needs their signature, or a symptom needs testing we can’t order. We can’t promise how quickly they’ll see you, but a clear clinical letter helps.
Do you do school vaccine exemption forms?
No. Under Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act, a medical exemption must be completed by a physician or nurse practitioner. We can, however, give the required vaccines and provide the record your child’s school or Durham Region Health Department needs.
Ready when you are
Need a note, record or letter?
Request a home visit and tell us what the document is for. We’ll say up front whether a Registered Nurse can provide it.